The present invention relates to an apparatus for attaching a front loader to a vehicle such as a tractor.
The front loader is provided with attaching members each at the base portion of each of a pair of lift arms, and the two attaching members are connected to support members provided on the opposite sides of a vehicle, whereby the front loader is removably attached to the vehicle. To lower the center of gravity of the front loader, the portions of the vehicle to which the attaching members are connected are at a low level, so that when the front loader is attached to or removed from the vehicle, the attaching members must be lifted so as not to interfere with the front wheels. Accordingly the opposite lift arms or the opposite attaching members are usually provided with a pair of jacks, by which the attaching members are lifted for the attachment or removal. However, this involves the problem that the front loader is not easily attachable to or removable from the vehicle since the jacks are cumbersome to handle. There is another problem in that it is troublesome to prepare the two jacks for the purpose of attaching and removal.
Further while it is necessary to hold the attaching members at a predetermined level when the front loader is to be attached to or removed from the vehicle, the jacks, which are not designed specifically for the front loader, are complex in construction and unable to hold the members stably.
The attaching members are connected to the support members by known flanges, bolts, etc., but it is cumbersome, for example, to bring the opposed flanges in register.
Although the connection between the front loader and the vehicle is not sufficiently strong, an attempt to give increased strength to the connection renders the attaching apparatus large-sized and more cumbersome to handle.